MARTIN DEMPSTER

Amateur ace Connor Syme shrugged off having his name pronounced wrong on the first tee for the second day running to get off to a flying start in the second round of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

The 22-year-old, who had finished birdie-birdie yesterday for an opening 73, holed from off the green from around 40 feet with a putter at the 422-yard par-4 second to get back to just two-over for the event.

That early boost came after Syme, one of five amateurs in the field in Southport, had once again been announced as “Sim” by starter David Lancaster on the first tee.

Having made the same mistake in the first round, it seemed Lancaster was going to get it right this time as he paused before announcing Syme on the tee only to do exactly the same thing again.

As had been the case the first time, Syme certainly wasn’t affected as he hit the best tee shot in a group featuring 1995 champion John Daly and Australian left-hander Adam Bland.

The Drumoig player two-putted from just off the back left before putting a huge smile on his face by rolling in that monster effort at the second, where Daly also made birdie after hitting his approach close.

At that point, Syme was up to joint-79th, needing to be among the top 70 ties at the halfway stage to make it to the weekend on his major debut.

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Bad weather was on its way on the second day at Royal Birkdale, with the later starters expected to get the worst of the conditions.

It was dry as Andrew “Beef” Johnston got the action back underway on the Lancashire coast, but “outbreaks of rain” were being forecast for the morning’s play.

After noon, there is to be a 30 per cent chance of rain, rising to 80 per cent after 4pm with “outbreaks of heavy rain” between one to five millimetres.

During that spell up to 6pm, the wind could also gust up to 40mph before dropping to 10-15mph for the final three hours of play.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for sunny spells with a chance of showers, especially in the afternoon, but the wind is set to be much lighter than today.